Paris braces for another education strike and march Tuesday, rally at 2 p.m. at Place d'Italie

Why it matters

High school students, university students and teachers' unions have called for a strike and demonstrations across Paris and France on Tuesday, Oct 13. The Paris-area march is set for 2 p.m. at Place d'Italie in the 13th arrondissement; as of Monday (Oct 12), the route and final gathering point had not yet been fixed by order of the Police Prefecture. Suburban rallies are also planned, including a 10 a.m. gathering in Melun (Seine-et-Marne) before joining the Paris march in the afternoon.

The movement began in mid-September at the Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil (Val-de-Marne, 94), spread to universities and then teachers' lounges, becoming a full "grève dans l'Éducation nationale." It was launched by the student inter-union coalition (Union étudiante, UNEF and high school organizations, backed by the FSU), whose spokesperson demands 10 billion euros on the table; six education unions (FSU, UNSA Éducation, FNEC FP-FO, CFDT Éducation Formation Recherche Publiques, CGT Éduc'action and SUD Éducation) are urging teachers to walk out Tuesday. Turnout has been large: 56,000 marched in Paris on Oct 6 (Interior Ministry), and 71,500 demonstrated across France on Oct 8, including 24,500 in Paris; 141 high schools were still closed on Friday, Oct 9.

The government has responded: National Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced on TF1's evening news an emergency substitute plan deploying about 3,000 substitute teachers to the most troubled high schools, plus overtime hours for short-term cover; Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu spoke on Oct 7 without concrete news for high schoolers. Unions call the plan a last-minute fix that shifts gaps from one school to another, far from the 10 billion demanded; beyond substitutes, students want renovated buildings, lighter timetables and, for some, the end of Parcoursup. On transit: no RATP or SNCF strike is announced, but following the previous two rounds, prefecture-ordered station closures around the demonstration are likely (six stations on Oct 6, four on Oct 8) — check real-time updates before heading out. Schools could grind to a halt; in preschools and elementary schools the municipality runs a minimum childcare service when at least 25% of teachers strike, so parents should contact their child's school first.

Source: Sortiraparis (updated Oct 12), citing the Interior Ministry, Public Sénat, LCP and L'Étudiant.